Konrad Szczepanik, Corporate Fitness Trainer, has experience in the fitness industry of about 10 years. He is a corporate fitness trainer at Delhi. He has also been a fitness coach and trainer at Corporate brands like JSW steel, Virgin Active and Holmes Place. 

Exercise gives a chance to decrease the chances of illness

Konrad shares his views, “Fitness affects specifically the cardiovascular health and mental health as well as during my career, I have come across people suffering mentally, not only physically because of the lack of activity. It is recommended to take at least 20 to 30 minutes and weekly, up to 150 minutes of activity because your mood and mental health is directly correlated to the level of the hormones. And basically, whenever one is extra passive during the day, they are only in the reactive mode and working long hours in front of the computer, commuting or driving, the body settles and the hormones are very low, for example, the oxytocin, testosterone, and endorphins, are all hormones that make one stronger, happier, and more confident so with the release of those hormones, one feels better instantly instead of reaching out for alcohol, cigarettes or a particular food right because it gives you only a very temporary result. So exercise makes you more energized and if you are exercising regularly it will improve the heart health, muscular health, and organs as well which leads to deliver more oxygen to the body which might help to recover all the sicknesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression related to lack of activity, energy, and intake of proper food. In Delhi, we were working on a project on the chronic conditions of corporates to improve their productivity, decrease leaves, and improve their overall health because this is the biggest problem right now.  Everyone has different goals to feel better but I can see that majority of people need basically more movement,” he says.

Tips to improve the quality of life

Konrad explains, “Just start walking in the morning on an empty stomach for 30 minutes, then you can have your tea, green tea, ginger ale, water with lemon, and then you can start your day as it will improve your hormonal state and feel more productive and happier during the day and more energized. So this is tip number one. Then start drinking liquids, hydrate your body, as dehydration also affects mental state and physical productivity as well as we can't perform when the water level is low. Tip number three is nutrition which is very poor and that’s the biggest problem. People are not aware of the food intake, for example, they think they are eating healthy cereals but they are loaded with sugar and other substances that they shouldn't be eating. Also, proteins are a super crucial component of your daily diet and the recommended intake is 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per Kg body weight. It can come from eggs, chicken, fish, meat, paneer, pulses, soya. We need to start looking at the food in terms of protein, energy, and vitamins and minerals, not only how it looks or tastes. Also, people say that all carbohydrates are bad but only processed carbohydrates are bad. So the majority of the civilization those sicknesses are caused by processed food and lack of activity. Make sure that you have that portion of vegetables in every meal or for breakfast and add some healthy fats and you have a very well-balanced meal that will provide your body with the nourishment to build yourselves energy and to keep you going healthy,” he says.

Beware of fake gurus

Konrad explains, “There are many gurus there which are very much experts. They work in different fields also. And sometimes they don't have much of an online presence and people need more education. It is about your health and you need to be aware that every human being is different and every human being has a different lifestyle. So self-education can prevent you from fake gurus and even a little minimum of education you need to get in terms of nutrition and become more aware of terminology that people will be using when you will be talking to those gurus, advisors, personal trainers, physiotherapists. Also, look for people who have a couple of years of experience in the industry and who have certified expertise and some testimonials. Don't go for a trainer who has no profiles on social media with proven work in the past. So go to people that are maybe more expensive even sometimes but believe me it will be worth your money and worth your time because those people know what they are doing instead of going for some low or cheap prices. So, read more about the person, do a little research, read the testimonials, because a fake guru won't have articles on the internet, and have no knowledge,” he says.

Konrad shares his opinion, “Group classes are not as effective as the physical fitness classes. Because we have group classes for corporate where we have 50 or 500 people during the class, and it's a pure demonstration, and the interaction element is very limited. So that is one method of interacting and then combining it with the Q&A sessions. But on the other side personal training sessions with people, are quite effective. As for digital, you can have a good quality of sound, headphones, keep explaining the exercises when you are teaching as you cannot touch them. So, I try to minimize the risk and give simple exercises so that the person is able to perform really well and probably increase the intensity by adding more time and repetitions to make it more effective and productive. So of course, the teaching abilities are limited as one can't teach so much of the technique. But I've had those who lost weight effectively as it's more about the daily guidance and to keep that client on track. So it's also more kind of self-learning for that person, this is my method of working with people. The biggest mistake that people make is jumping from flower to flower and just not getting results because your body is completely a reflection of your actions. So if you are all the time changing those actions, you will be changing all the time your body will be gaining fat, losing weight, and this is what people do. And that’s why people end up upset and demotivated because they just didn't spend enough time on it,” he says

(Edited by Rabia Mistry Mulla)

Know more about Konrad at- www.coachkonrad.com